PORTSMOUTH — The internationally acclaimed author John Irving will take the stage on Friday, Feb. 1, in the celebrated speaker series presented by The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio, Writers on a New England Stage. Mr. Irving will discuss his new novel, IN ONE PERSON, a compelling and affecting exploration of sexuality, identity, and longing.

“It is a tremendous honor and thrill to welcome back to New Hampshire one of our very own celebrated writers — to a region he paints so clearly in The Ciderhouse Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany,” said Margaret Talcott, Associate Producer of Writers on a New England Stage. “There is tremendous interest here in his fiction. I can't wait to hear from him and to learn more through his discussion with Virginia Prescott from NHPR.”

ABOUT THE BOOK

In his thirteenth novel, Mr. Irving pushes the boundaries of acceptance for the sexual outsider or misfit — he describes the life and mind of a bisexual man dealing with his solitariness and the obduracy of an intolerant society.

IN ONE PERSON is narrated by Billy Abbott, one of Irving's most tormented and impassioned protagonists. Billy grows up in First Sister, Vermont, a small town with two defining institutions: a boarding school named Favorite River Academy and an amateur theatrical society called the First Sister Players. Both will play a seminal role in Billy's formative years. He grows up fatherless; his biological father is one of several secrets kept from Billy. When his mother marries drama teacher and leading man Richard Abbott, Billy develops the first of many “crushes on the wrong people.”

Billy's sexual yearnings are not limited to men. He fantasizes about Miss Frost, the statuesque town librarian. Another object of his desire is Jacques Kittredge, the school's handsome wrestling star. Kittredge is also the sexual fantasy of Elaine Hadley, Billy's best friend. Billy's understanding of sexual roles is further confounded by his grandfather, Harry Marshall, the owner of the local sawmill, who dons women's clothing and performs female roles in the First Sister Players productions with notable finesse.

Billy becomes a writer; as his life unfolds, he will draw his friends and lovers (for more than half a century) from a wide sexual spectrum, thus coming to terms with his own complex desires. During the AIDS epidemic, he bears witness to its horror and its politicizing effects. With compassion and curiosity, Billy grows into a man of singular qualities; he discovers that our differences can be as formative as our similarities.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The World According to Garp, which won the National Book Award in 1980, was John Irving's fourth novel and his first international best-seller; it also became a George Roy Hill film. Tony Richardson wrote and directed the adaptation for the screen of The Hotel New Hampshire (1984). Irving's novels are now translated into thirty-five languages, and he has had nine international bestsellers. Worldwide, the Irving novel most often called “an American classic” is A Prayer for Owen Meany (1989), the portrayal of an enduring friendship at that time when the Vietnam War had its most divisive effect on the United States. In 1992, John Irving was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He competed as a wrestler for twenty years, until he was thirty-four, and coached the sport until he was forty-seven. In 2000, Irving won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules, a Lasse Hallström film that earned seven Academy Award nominations. Tod Williams wrote and directed The Door in the Floor, the 2004 film adapted from Irving's ninth novel, A Widow for One Year.

BOOK CLUBS, GUESTS

At each Writers event, The Music Hall hosts local high school students selected by their teachers, who come free of charge to the event and get an opportunity to meet the author. The Music Hall welcomes local book clubs attending on the night to take part in a drawing to be guests at a private backstage book signing/reception with the featured writer. For more information on how to join the Writers on a New England Stage book club list and drawing, email Associate Producer Margaret Talcott at mtalcott@themusichall.org. Interested high school and middle teachers can contact Programming Coordinator Chris Curtis at ccurtis@themusichall.org

TICKETS, SIGNINGS

Tickets to Writers on a New England Stage: John Irving are $13 ($11 for members of The Music Hall and NH Public Radio). For each 1-2 tickets sold, the purchase of a book voucher ($30) is required. Vouchers can be redeemed on the night of the event for a signed copy of Irving's discussed work, IN ONE PERSON.

Tickets can be purchased at The Music Hall box office in the Historic Theater, 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth or over the phone at 603-436-2400. Tickets and vouchers are not available online for John Irving.